Feds Say Salem Man Ran 'Largest Known' Ghost Gun Shop In Oregon

PORTLAND, OR — A federal indictment says that 29-year-old man from Salem was selling counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl as well as possessing heroin and fentanyl that he planned to distribute. Tyler Ray Harnden is currently in state custody on a parole violation.

His arraignment on the indictment will be scheduled at a later date.

Prosecutors say that Harnden also ran the "largest privately made or 'ghost gun' manufacturing workshop in Oregon.

The indictment stems from a probe that included a raid on Harnden's home in Salem where prosecutors say he ran the manufacturing workshop in his basement.

Officials state that during the raid, they discovered:

• two pistols,
• three completed ghost guns,
• thousands of rounds of ammunition,
• 15 loaded high-capacity magazines,
• three drill presses and other assorted firearm manufacturing equipment, and
• approximately 200 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

Prosecutors say that Harnden was paying people to buy guns for him and would target people with substance abuse problems, offering the counterfeit oxycodone pills with fentanyl in exchange for guns.

Earlier this week, ATF agents and Salem Police officers conducted a raid at the home of a relative of Harnden's. They found four gun safes with 63 additional firearms that prosecutors say were owned by Harnden.

Ghost guns are firearms that are made with made by individuals who use kits or other materials they acquire. The guns don't have serial numbers and are sold without background checks.

Prosecutors say that they are nearly impossible to track.

"This case highlights how gun crime is a regional issue extending beyond the city of Portland," Assistant United States Attorney Craig Gabriel said in announcing the indictment.

"Illegal firearms and the violence that goes with them are problems that we have to address together with federal, local, and regional law enforcement partners."

Gabriel, who is the chief of the criminal division for the Oregon U.S. Attorney's Office, told reporters at a news conference on gun violence organized by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler that the investigation is "wide-ranging and ongoing."